I want a PPK/s finished in what I would call a hi-gloss or piano black finish. Ford's has a picture of a PPK/s that was finished in black chrome that looks like what I'm looking for, but they do not offer this finish any longer.

Is this the finish that I actually want? I do not necessarily want any 'chrome' appearance to the piece - just a hi-gloss black.

If this isn't the finish that I want, what should I ask for and what factory finish is a better starting point-blued or stainless?

Your piano grade finish is a combination of a proper polishing job, taken from about 400 grit up through Brownell's 555 black, grey and white polishes, with hard felt and stitched muslin wheels, plus hand polishing on the curved surfaces. It takes time and care to achieve a mirror bright finish without rounding corners, dishing out the screw holes and/or obliterating markings.

Now, after the polishing is done, you have the gun blued. By far, the best deep, rich finishes I have seen is found usually on high end guns, or the older Smith and Wesson and Colt revolvers. It is called Carbonia Blue--and it's a very painstaking process done with high output gas furnaces.

There is only one place I know that can provide a Carbonia finish done properly, and that is Ron's Gun Restorations. The bluing itself will set you back about $240 or so--the polishing and prep is extra. You can find them on the Net; give them a shout and talk to them.

Thanks for all of the advice.
1. I do not intend on tackling any of this myself.
2. Piece in question has not yet been purchased (waiting to get feedback from forums...) but still haven't heard if it would be better to start with factory blued or stainless. Gun will be brand new current production PPK/S.
3. Black chrome sounds okay, and the Durakote option sounds better if it can be applied with a very high gloss finish.

To the best of my knowledge, you will NOT be able to achieve the finish you want with stainless steel. If you want the master polish blue (as in, Colt Royal Blue/Carbonia) you'll have to start with a blued gun. And, as I mentioned before, you will have to pay a bit of a premium for the work. But--once you see that blue, you'll go ga-ga over it. Take a look at Ron's Gun Restoration website; click on the Finishes tab, and select the link that says, "What is Carbonia?" Look at the grip of the Colt SAA near the bottom of the page. Is that not drop-dead gorgeous, or what?

I would suggest you contact the folks @ Rocky Mountain Arms www.bearcoat.com they have a shinny black that is quite nice and works on stainless...they did my S&W 645 with it. Wore very well for many years until a fella offered me way too much for it !

I contacted Ron's yesterday and although there is no denying the beauty of a carbonia finish, I am reluctant to pursue it. My intention was to purchase a new PPK/S and have it re-finished to get the gloss black finish that I wanted, and their (Paul's?) comments suggested that even with new firearms, and especially a PPK/S (he didn't sound thrilled at the prospect of working on this piece), there could be a ton of prep and polishing needed. So, I hear you on the price comment. If I was dealing with a full-on classic restoration, I might go this route, but given that I am only trying my hand at a 'little' personalization of a very common, firearm, I'm inclined to keep looking for a more affordable alternative to carbonia.

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